Who Am I?
A weary man shuffles along a corridor, one of a line of weary shuffling men. The corridor is made of rough concrete and it is cold. Harsh light gives the men’s skin an unhealthy pallor.
7 stories
AI or Robot-Uprising Apocalypse Stories
An AI or robot-uprising apocalypse imagines artificial intelligence, autonomous machines, synthetic workers, algorithms, weapons systems, or networked infrastructure turning against human control. The danger may be conscious rebellion, cold optimisation, misaligned objectives, or automation without accountability. These stories ask what happens when human beings build minds and systems faster than they build wisdom, restraint, or a reliable off switch.
Read original ai or robot-uprising apocalypse short stories on this page from world-class authors, selected from the Ash Tales archive.
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Amity
Surrounding the man were narrow beige walls marked with expletives written in blood. There was little in the cell. A tin mirror bolted to the wall, a steel toilet, bench, mattress, a gray bedsheet, and a washcloth worn with use.
One Percent
Languid movements. Grinding joints. Skull screen glitching. Vision blurring. This is it. Severe battery depletion. Clarence is powering down.
The Old People's Pied Piper
Three days after he had disappeared we still believed we would find grandpa. His small apartment in the retirement home became our temporary headquarters. We took shifts, the grandchildren, children, daughters and sons-in-law. Three or four of us each time.
Osprey
Date: June 3rd, 262 P.B. – 10:13 PM
Attending the Mote
Awesome meets Vicar’s link, travels deep into the Shog’s past, and gleans the stones. Awesome’s activity is represented in Vicar’s mind as a rotating red orb.
The Balmoral Revenants
I saw them come for the bench, the one presented to Ruth on her retirement from teaching. I’d got used to staying up late and taking a peek at the grounds from behind the curtains.